The City of Lawrence will soon welcome arts grant applications for projects with community value, including work focused on equity and inclusion and sustainability.
Applicants can earn between $500 and $10,000 for a project submitted to the city’s Community Arts Grant program.
They must articulate how their project or program aligns with the city’s “Unmistakable Identity” brand and boosts at least one of the priorities outlined in the city’s strategic plan, according to a news release. These priorities include community engagement, sound fiscal stewardship and other commitments.
The city has added equity and inclusion as a new scoring component this year, aiming to represent different cultural celebrations and involve Black and Indigenous people and other people of color. Applicants may also earn extra points by incorporating environmental sustainability, which could include use of green spaces, planting trees and more.
Don’t miss a beat … Click here to sign up for our email newsletters
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
The application will go live Wednesday, Dec. 31 and close at 11 p.m. Monday, Feb. 2.
Access the online application and more information about the process on the city’s website at this link. Winners will be announced in mid-March.
Additionally, smaller grants of up to $500 each will be awarded to as many as five artists who are 18 and older. Those grants will help artists purchase equipment needed for their work. The mini grant application opens Monday, Jan. 26 and closes at 11 p.m. Friday, March 6.
The grants are funded by the transient guest tax (TGT), a special sales tax that applies to hotel stays. Since 1991 when the program was established, 252 grants have been awarded, equaling more than $400,000 in grant support from the city, according to the release.
The city previously had a TGT advisory board that made recommendations on how to spend the annual funds, but it was disbanded last year. The Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission now reviews and scores applications.
Community Arts Grant recipients in 2025 included the annual Juneteenth production by Life Restoration Ministries Theatre, the Amplify Lawrence music camp, a celebration of public artwork honoring the La Yarda community and others.
Interested applicants can also submit their grant application in PDF form by 11 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15 or sooner, if they’d like feedback on basic minimum requirements. City staff will review and return applications by Thursday, Jan. 22, before the final application deadline.
If local news matters to you, please help us keep doing this work.
Don’t miss a beat — get the latest news from the Times delivered to your inbox:
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
Latest Lawrence news:
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
